Welcome to my blog. I document my adventures in travel, style, and food. Hope you have a nice stay!
Jesse Friedin, photographer, animal lover and creator of meaningful projects is how I like to refer to him. I met this ambitious man in San Francisco a few years ago while doing a job andsince that time I have watched his work blossom and wanted to share that you too could have a Jesse Friedin portrait of your dog should you so desire. He shares with me his passion for pets and how he got into this business.
I reached out to Jarren Vink after I came across some of his wonderfully elaborate photographs of organized things. I contacted him thinking what a fun dog project and coincidentally we had many friends in common! He replied with this stuning top picture of his dog Lady. Here is her story:
I originally met Faye McLeod poolside at a friend’s house a few summers ago, fabulous but dog-less. It wasn’t until recently that I discovered she had a dog, but not any dog, surely the best accessorized dog on the planet. And it’s no small wonder that Stella, the mini Havapoo, is as such for her Mom is the visual image director of Louis Vuitton and travels the globe for her job. During Faye’s inspired travels, she hits up the chicest dog spots around the world, so Mrs. Sizzle had to get the scoop on where the best products are found. I spent a rainy afternoon with Faye and Landon Nordeman, fashion photographer, with Stella chasing avocados and other fuzzy wonders.
Working in the environs of his small town of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Mark Cohen shows that you don't have to travel far to unleash a distinctive photographic vision. Cohen got closer to his subjects and looked more closely at the texture of the world around him than anyone shooting on the street had before and went on to influence countless photographers and the way we see the world. Come join us at Danziger Gallery to see this wonderful work on May 10th.
'Slater is an elderly, regal dachshund who has been in my family for as long as I can remember. Some friends of mine recently curated an art show of only dog-related work, and Slater and I decided to make this film.'
As it seems with all my new friends these days, I met this incredible woman and her dog on INSTAGRAM. Seeing that it has now become an Olympic sport for me, it’s no surprise that the cute feed of @CHLOETHEMINIFRENCHIE became a regular in mine. We met for the first time during an April Fool's shoot for Barneys and later followed up at various dog centric functions. NO WONDER this dog has so many followers - she is cute as a button, and, as I have shared with her Mom, if the dog is missing, please come looking at my house! Amy Lombard came along for my playdate with Chloe!
We begin a series of stylist's portraits with their animals that is a collaboration between the photographer Marcus Mam and Mrs. Sizzle. Bill Mullen and his partner, Todd Noaker, love animals. I do not need to talk about the fact that Bill is a force of nature in fashion as we are here to talk about his animals. Tinkerbell LeStrange is a Siamese cat, a Seal Point to be exact. Vampiro LaVey, although a rescue, is descended from Transylvanian royalty and he says his breed is Black Cat. Morticia is a Greater Vasa Parrot and Carmen is a Mexican Spiny Tailed Iguana. Lastly, Black Bart and Vesuvio are Siamese Fighting Fish. Follow their adventures here @Tarpie11 and @BillMullenInc.
As a Feature Shoot fan, I am always surprised by the fabulous talent I come across, one discovery being Ibarionex Perello, a famed photographer, lecturer and professor. I asked him his relationship to taking photos of dogs and this is what he shared, "I have always loved dogs. After I left for college, I was without a dog for years and it wasn't until my wife and I moved into our first house that I was able to have a dog in my life again. I think having dogs has made me that much more sensitive to them as subjects as I walk the street making my images. They are real unique characters and it’s that personality that often draws me to photograph them.
I have not yet met this wonderful lady but after seeing her aspirational pics on Instagram, having many friends in common and then noticing a cat in her feed - well, that was it. So here I present Miss Betty and her mom Christina Grasso aka The Pouf. Christina shares her story and home pics of this wonderful rescue Miss Betty:
Last week Robert Stoetzel and I went to Animal Haven mobile until located at 200 Centre Street to photograph some of the dogs that were visiting and up for adoption while the new space is being renovated. On hand was my intern, Anna Capel, and Tiffany Lacey stopped by to say hello and give me a tour. A great day was had by all. Consider adopting one of these gems.
Check out this heavenly new video by Dewey Nicks for the ASPCA.
Take me out to the ball game
Take me out with the crowd
Buy me some treats and some raw hide chews
It's a long game so I might take a snooze
And it's RUFF RUFF RUFF
For the home team
If they don't win it's a shame
Aahh.
For it's one,
Two,
Three paws you're out
At the old ball game!
Anne DeVito loves dogs. So much so that she recently had a book come out called DOG LOVE, published by Penguin Books, that features different breeds of dogs. It was with great pleasure that I received this delightful book and a surprise piece of art for my very own of the Sizzle sisters! It inspired me to reach out to this wonderful artist and toss her names of a few of my favorite instagram accounts that highlight dogs, to inspire some new illustrations!
Thankfully I am able to expand on this notion of Robert and dogs to announce a new book out entitled, "Robert Mapplethorpe: The Archive", by Frances Terpak and Michelle Brunnick. It is with painstaking detail that this meticulous collection of Mapplethopre art and artifacts are brought to life by the two authors. Robert Mapplethorpe was my boss and a prolific artist. He, "challenged the limits of censorship and conformity, combining technical and formal mastery with unexpected, often provocative content that secured his place in history. Mapplethorpe’s artistic vision helped shape the social and cultural fabric of the 1970s and ’80s and, following his death in 1989 from AIDS, informed the political landscape of the 1990s. His photographic works continue to resonate with audiences all over the world.
My dear friend Colleen Quill aka Coco and her dog Elle, an oftentimes Mrs. Sizzle model, packed up and headed to London last year. As one often does in looking for new local friends, Coco turned to Instagram to find other like minded paw friendly people. As she tells it, "We moved to London in May. Shortly afterwards, Elle connected with Winny on Instagram, being local and so very British, we were besotted. The first thing we asked "is he named for Winston Churchill?" The answer being "yes," a royal friendship began in the Kensington Palace Gardens. Bodhi is the two-year-old English bulldog, who belongs to my friend Seb Weller I met while we were both working at Sony Music."
When I left Glamour magazine, I was lucky enough to be given an original Kaitlin O'Connor drawing by Kelly Sherin, one of the brilliant photo people in the Glamour photo department at the time. I was seriously blown away by the gift and it hangs in my office, above where Edie and Clair now sleep, while I work. I reached out to talk to the artist about her work:
Sometimes good things do come in three’s. We here at Mrs. Sizzle are giving an ode to the original color triad that started it all: red, yellow, and blue-the primary colors. With so many primary choices, we’ve rounded up some gifts that puppy will love, and don’t worry, some goodies for you as well. Bonus points for matching!
There is nothing I love more than friends reaching out to me with their rescue stories. Not only does it give me great joy, but it is the most aspirational way to reconnect with old friends and colleagues and share about our commonality - LOVE FOR ANIMALS. SO, it was with great pleasure that I heard from friend and photographer Melanie Acevedo who wanted to share her pics and story about her dogs and their role in the home.
